Tutoring
by chikahchik
Summary: Detentions are best served with each other. Draco.x.Harry


**NOTE: **This little piece here was written, a long, long time ago. The characters are, once again, slightly OOC…and some events are random…or…I don't know how to explain it…but yeah…READ AND REVIEW please! Tell me what you think. Thanks!**  
DISCLAIMER: **characters are not mine**  
WARNING: **shounen-ai, boy/boy, slash**  
PAIRING: **Draco Malfoy / Harry Potter**  
SUMMARY: **___Detentions are best served with each other._

. . . . . .

**TUTORING**

'I've had it with this foolish rivalry, Potter! You're sixteen years old—act like it!' Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Head of Gryffindor House, fumed.

Harry Potter, the hope of the entire Wizarding World, protested, 'But _he_ started it!'

'I don't care who started it! Now, Professor Snape is talking to Malfoy. The two of us have both agreed on a suitable punishment for you and young Mr. Malfoy.'

Harry rolled his eyes. Professor Severus Snape, the Potions Master, the only professor that hates Harry with a passion, was one of the professors that chose a _suitable_ punishment for him and Malfoy. Harry could only imagine all the horrible things he would have to do while Malfoy had all the easy tasks. Oh, how he loathe that man! Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, son of a Death Eater, and therefore, one of Harry's nightmares. They've been rivals since Harry first came to Hogwarts. He found it impossible now to find peace. For as long as he could remember, Malfoy was always there to torment him and his friends.

Harry clenched his fists in anger; oh, how he wanted to punch Malfoy so badly at that very moment. But since Malfoy was nowhere near him, Harry just decided to ask what the punishment was, harshly.

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at the tone of the inquiry, 'Well, seeing as how detention affects neither of you, Porfessor Snape and I have decided to make you tutors.'

'Oh…that doesn't sound to awful, I guess…'

'I'm glad you think so, Mr. Potter. Mr. Malfoy will expect you at exactly six o'clock tomorrow night in the library.'

'W-wait! Why's Malfoy expecting me?'

'Oh, did I forget to tell you? You're tutoring Mr. Malfoy and he will be tutoring you,' Professor McGonagall smiled a smile that warned Harry that she had something up her sleeve.

'WHAT?'

. . .

'Of all the punishments…why this? Why do I have to tutor him, of all the students?' Harry mumbled all the way to the library.

Once inside his destination, Harry plopped down on one of the wooded chairs and furiously flipped through the pages of his Potions textbook. Any detention would've been better than tutoring Malfoy. At least, during detention, he could make something fall on Malfoy's head and claim that it was accidental; but with tutoring, he was forced to be _nice_ to the bastard!

'Why, why, WHY ME?' Harry demanded as he slammed the book in front of him shut and laid his head in his arms.

As soon as Harry closed his eyes, he heard someone dropping their books on the table and sighing impatiently. Harry opened his eyes and lifted his head to glare at the intruder. He rolled his eyes. There in front of him was Draco Malfoy, the reason that landed him in his current situation.

'You're late,' Harry stated flatly.

Malfoy gave Harry a blank look, 'Oh, was I? I'm very sorry. Won't happen again,' he apologized absentmindedly.

Harry raised an eyebrow in question, 'Malfoy, are you okay? You just _apologized_ to me.'

'Huh?' Malfoy stared at Harry, 'It's just apologizing. Nothing wrong with that. It's what normal people do when they did something wrong.'

'_Normal people_, Malfoy…and we both know that you're far from normal.'

'I'm perfectly nomarl, Potter—which is more than I can say about you. Now can we get this over with? It's not really a walk in the park to be tutored by you.'

'Feeling's only mutual. What do you need to be tutored on?'

Malfoy averted his gaze towards the floor and mumbled incoherently. Harry scowled and noticed Malfoy's cheeks turn red.

'What was that? I didn't hear you. I won't laugh. I need to be tutored too,' Harry said softly.

'Yes, but all you need is Potions. You'll be done with this whole tutoring thing in a month—or even less than,' Malfoy told him bitterly.

'W-what do you mean?'

'I mean, you only need to be tutored in Potions. Then once you've learned everything there is to know, you'll be done and this whole tutoring thing'll be over.'

'Don't you want that? For this to be over quickly?'

Malfoy finally met Harry's eyes. Harry was taken aback by what he saw. Instead of finding resentment, Harry found Malfoy's eyes full of weakness and desperation. 'I might need more time to learn everything I have to…' he informed Harry quietly.

'Don't worry, Malfoy, I'm a patient person. I'll tell you what; you can tutor me after I've finished tutoring you first. That way, you can guarantee that I'll stay with you for the whole time that you need me,' Harry gave Malfoy a smile.

Malfoy returned the smile, 'Really? You'll stay and help? You won't leave?'

'No, I won't leave. I may not like you all the much, but I'll never abandon someone in need of help.'

'Always a Gryffindor, huh?'

'Well…not always. I'm just being Harry.'

'Oh, so you're always a saviour?'

'No, that's Harry _Potter_. I'm just being _Harry_: student and compassionate.'

'Oh. Well then, since you're _just Harry_, I'll be _just Draco_.'

'You mean _Malfoy_ isn't the same as _Draco_?'

'Complete opposites. Don't erally want to elaborate all that much.'

'Alright then…'

'Good. So I call you _Harry_ and you call me _Draco_. Deal?'

'I…guess so. Whatever you say. Where do you want to start?'

'Um…which one is the easiest? Transfiguration? Herbology? Charms? Or Defence Against the Dark Arts?'

'Hm…' Harry thought about the question, then answered, 'Herbology's the easiest, since you don't have to do much magic. Defence Against the Dark Arts is the most complicated to learn.'

'Okay, let's start with Herbology.'

. . .

Later that evening, Harry plopped down on his bed. He felt tired, but he knew that sleep was still far away from claiming him. Instead of reading, like he normally did at night, Harry just decided to lay still and think about his day. Tutoring Malfoy wasn't as bad as he'd imagined it would be. In fact, his time spent in the library with the Slytherin was relatively pleasant—even thought Malfoy had needed help on almost all his subjects.

Now, Harry was left wondering about what had possessed him to help Malfoy at all. Normally, he would've preferred to get his bit done and get out of there as soon as he can, laughing at Malfoy's lack of abilities. Maybe it was what he saw in the depths of the Slytherin's eyes. Harry had expected to find hostility, but instead, Malfoy's eyes were full of helplessness.

_I wonder if that was all just a trick..._Harry sighed. Was Malfoy just playing games? Was he just baiting Harry to tutor him first, then when Harry was done teaching him, he'd just leave? Was he planning on learning everything he needed and leaving Harry hanging? _Could Malfoy have just been acting?_ Harry wondered.

Harry turned to lie on his side and grabbed his wand from his bedside table. He cast a silencing charm around his bed and exclaimed, 'Merlin, I'm an idiot!'

. . .

The next evening, Harry headed to the library immediately after dinner. He had arrived five minutes before he and Malfoy were scheduled to meet, but to his surprise, Malfoy was already there before him, reading his Herbology textbook. Harry walked over to the table and sat down across from Malfoy. Gently placing his books on the table, he called out to the other boy to get his attention. When Malfoy didn't respond, Harry fought back the urge to chuckle at Malfoy's concentration.

'Malfoy?' Harry called again.

Finally, Malfoy looked up. 'Didn't we agree last night that during tutoring, we will refer to each other by our first names?' he asked with an annoyed tone.

'Huh? Oh sorry, completely slipped my mind.'

'Hm…I see. But anyway, now that we've settled that, let's begin. I was just reviewing the materials you taught me last night.'

'Oh? That's good. So I'm guessing that you can now tell me what type of plant does what and whether or not it's harmful to humans?'

'Um…sort of. I'm not really sure if I'm ready for that just yet.'

'Don't worry, Draco. It'll all be just fine. Just have confidence and you'll be able to do it.'

'O-okay. I'll try my best,' he gave Harry a weak smile.

Harry returned the smile and told Malfoy to close his book. He knew that the Slytherin was nervous and unsure, so Harry started his quiz by naming plants that they'd learned about in First Year. Malfoy answered most of them with ease, but there were a few that he didn't know. When they came across one of those, Harry would explain the plant to Malfoy, then he would resume testing the other boy.

The two of them spent at least half an hour with that task. When Harry was positive that Malfoy was ready to move onto a new topic, he opened his Herbology textbook. Malfoy followed suit. Harry was quite proud—without understanding why—that Malfoy was grasping everything he was teaching so quickly. They had gone through six concepts of Herbology within three hours' time.

'Wow, that's great, Draco! At this rate, we'll be done with this punishment in no time,' Harry said.

Malfoy looked at him, 'Do you want this to be over so soon?'

'Don't you?'

'Of course I do!' Malfoy exclaimed a little too quickly.

Harry raised his eyebrow in question, but didn't say anything. He just gave Malfoy a nod and packed up his belongings. He could feel Malfoy's gaze on him, but Harry ignored it. The Slytherin was acting quite oddly. Every time they were out in the halls, Malfoy would treat Harry like scum; but here, in the library, it's like Malfoy's a whole different person. _Maybe there IS a big difference between Draco and Malfoy after all…_Harry thought as he finished packing.

As soon as he turned to leave, Malfoy called after him, 'Harry! Same time tomorrow, right?'

Harry turned his head, 'Yes of course. Same time. See you later!'

'Um…okay, see you around.'

What was wrong with Malfoy? What was wrong with _him_? Harry couldn't answer any of those questions. He was confused about why Malfoy was acting the way he is, but he's even more confused about himself. Why does he even care about how Malfoy was acting? Shaking his head, Harry kept walking back to Gryffindor Tower; trying desperately to stop thinking about Malfoy. But he just couldn't. _Dammit!_

Why do the fates have to be totally against him? He rounded a corner and leaned against the wall. All this thinking was making him exhausted. Did he really want the tutoring to be over so soon? Closing his eyes, Harry tried to find the true answer to that question. After several minutes, the answer was plain and obvious.

_No_.

True, they'd only had two sessions so far, but Harry had fun on those sessions. It was very new to Harry to find Malfoy being nice. It felt strange, yet, at the same time, wonderful. He didn't want such a good thing to end so soon.

Releasing a sigh, Harry slowly stood up. He now knew the reason Snape and Professor McGonagall thought that tutoring was a good punishment—especially when they had to tutor each other. They had anticipated for this to happen. They had hoped that by throwing him and Malfoy togethether, the two would become attached to the other. _Well congratulations, you two! You've just succeeded—even though it's only ME who's attatched. How do I act around him now? I can't show him that I've become fond of him…_

When Harry finally made it back to Gryffindor Tower, he walked past his friends, who were calling for him (in the Common Room) and went straight into his dorm room. Without bothering to change out of his uniform, Harry threw himself down on his bed.

'Why is it always me?' he screamed.

As if he didn't already have enough on his mind, the fates just had to add Draco Malfoy into his list of problems. Life was so much easier when he believed that he hated Malfoy. But now? He doesn't know what to believe.

. . .

Harry closed his eyes as he enjoyed the breeze blowing on his tanned face. It was so peaceful out by the lake. That was a good place to collect all his thoughts. The tutoring sessions he'd been having with Malfoy have been really great. He's always having fun with the Slytherin—but he keeps that all to himself.

Their sessions have been going on for a month and a half now, but Harry had always managed to hide his true emotions. On the outside, he acted non-chalant about the whole situation, but inside-it was a whole new story. Inside, Harry was breaking apart—for he already had what he wanted so close to him, yet that something was still so far away.

_W-wait! Want? I want Malfoy? Since when?_ Harry was alarmed and shocked at his own realization. His eyes snapped open, but he immediately shut it again, due to the large amount of light that filtered into his pupils. How can that be? How could he want Malfoy? Since when did he start wanting him? Is it even worth it to want the other boy? Harry sighed.

'Harry?' a familiar voice inquired from behind him.

Harry slowly opened his eyes and checked behind him. He found Malfoy standing there with a small smile on his face. Harry was a bit surprised, so he was unable to say something on time. Apparently, Malfoy took Harry's silence as a bad sign, so he said, 'Am I bothering you? I can leave if you want me to…'

The Gryffindor shook his head, 'No, no, you're not bothering me at all. I was just surprised that you approached me out here in the open.'

'Oh. Why would it be a surprise?'

'Because I didn't expect you and me to be civil to each other outside of tutoring hours—we never were a month ago. And I thought we only call each other by our first names inside the library…'

'No one can hear us right now, so it doesn't really matter about our first names. And well…spending a month and a half with you without insulting you kind of rubbed off on me. I find it difficult now to be around you and act heartless.'

'Really?'

'Yes…' Harry sensed that there was a hidden question behind the reply, but he chose to ignore that feeling.

Harry looked away from Malfoy as his lips formed a small smile. Maybe he wasn't alone in the _wanting_ department after all. 'So…about tutoring tonight…what do you-,'

Malfoy interrupted him, 'I'm sorry for cutting you off, but I was just wondering if we could start a little earlier tonight—since it's a weekend and all…'

'Sure,' The Gryffindor nodded. 'What time would you like to begin?'

'Around four thirty, if you don't mind.'

'Four thirty it is. We're almost finished with Charms, so I hope to be able to get through everything tonight—then we'll start Transfiguration.'

'Okay!' Malfoy exclaimed with a big smile on his pale face.

There was along pause, and Harry savored the silence shared between them. The two boys stood in peace, reveling in each other's company. Harry watched the tiny waves of the water lap on each other as the wind blew by. Everything was just perfect. He and Malfoy were standing so close to each other without aggravating the mood. _Hm…so Malfoy and Draco are two different people...I wonder just how different those two are._

'Mal-I mean, Draco, you said _you _were different from _Malfoy_...' Harry started.

'Yeah?'

'Well...I was just wondering how much of a difference there is-if you don't mind me asking.'

'No, I don't mind. I guess it's not much of a big deal for me to tell you now...but there's quite a few differences. Malfoy is arrogant, impatient and competitive-everything he was raised to be. Oh, and Malfoy also hates you. Draco, on the other hand, is quiet and everything that Malfoy isn't.'

'So Draco doesn't hate me, but Malfoy does?'

'You see, that's the funny thing, Harry. Sometimes, the line between Malfoy and Draco is so thin that it's hard to notice the difference.'

'What does that mean?'

'Figure it out. Malfoy hates you-he's supposed to. The line between Draco and Malfoy is thin. Draco _doesn't_ hate you.'

_Draco doesn't hate you..._those words rang through Harry's head over and over again. He's been trying to figure out what Malfoy meant about the line between _Draco _and _Malfoy_ being thin, for two weeks now. _Draco doesn't hate you._

'Are you still trying to analyze what I told you two weeks ago, Harry?' Malfoy asked while Harry was explaining how to transfigure a flower into a cup.

Harry looked Malfoy in the eyes, 'How'd you know?'

'You seem so distracted-you have been since that day we talked by the lake. But, let me tell you now, I'm a complex person-I'm sure you are too-however, that concept you're thinking of is really easy to figure out.'

'Oh, really now?'

'Yes. Tell me, Harry, what's the opposite of hate?'

'Lo-,'

'Forget it. Let's get back to transfiguring this flower into a cup.'

Harry scowled. _Draco loves me?_ 'You love me?'

'Which part of me?'

'You said the line was thin.'

'Can we discuss this later?'

'Fine.'

When their tutoring session for the evening ended, Harry quickly packed up and left the library. Although, before he even made it halfway through the corridor, he felt someone grab his arm and roughly shove him to the wall. Harry rapidly blinked, to rid himself of the shock and dizziness.

'Malfoy?'

'I know you're not dense, Potter! Don't ignore-,'

'Ignore what? What you feel for me? What I feel for you? WHAT?'

'What do _you_ feel for me?'

'I...I hated you.'

Harry felt Draco's grip loosen, 'You hate me?'

'I said: _hated_-as in _past tense_. I hated what you were-I hated Malfoy.'

'But I said that there was a thin line between Draco and Malfoy. How are you so sure that Mal-,'

'Draco's the complete opposite of Malfoy. Besides, you practically told me that you-as Draco-loved me-unless I'm wrong.'

'No, Potter, you're correct. I-as Draco-fell in love with you. And I'm still falling. I don't know how it happened-but...I know that ever since I was young, I've always been interested in you. Malfoy was just a cover-so you couldn't see right through me.'

'I never wanted to be a hero. I never wanted to be famous,' Harry suddenly said.

'Where'd that come from?'

'To show you that you never saw through me either. I also never wanted to hate you, Draco.'

'You didn't?'

'No, but you were such-,'

'I know, I know. I was a prat; I'm sorry."

'Don't worry about it. I'm sorry too.'

'What do you fell for me now? If you don't hate me, that is...'

'I...I'm slowly falling in love with you,' Harry sighed, realizing for the first time how he truly felt. 'I became attached to you by the second day of our sessions and-,'

Before Harry could finish what he was saying, Malfoy silenced him by placing his lips on Harry's. The Gryffindor's eyes widened. _That_ was the last thing on Earth he had expected. Should he kiss back? His heart and mind were telling him to do it, but he just couldn't get his body to move. He was way too shocked.

Malfoy quickly pulled away when Harry hadn't responded. 'I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that,' there was pained regret evident in his eyes.

'You didn't do anything wrong...there's nothing to be sorry about.'

Malfoy released Harry from his grip, 'You didn't respond. That just says one thing: you may be falling for me-but you still can't bear to kiss me...'

'What? I was just surprised.'

'Even so. I-I'll just be going now.'

Malfoy moved backwards, but before he could turn around and leave, Harry took his hand and pulled him back. With a small smile on his face, the Gryffindor reached to cradle Malfoy's-no, it was _Draco_, now-he reached out to cradle _Draco's_ face in his hands.

'Who said I wanted you to leave?' he asked.

Draco opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, Harry pulled his face down and paused for a moment, then he allowed their lips to meet once again in a kiss so gentle, yet so passionate. Harry could feel the butterflies fluttering in his stomach and his heart was pounding so much in his ribcage he was afraid it would explode.

It was completely amazing how Draco was capable of awakening all sorts of emotions inside him that Harry never knew he had. When the kiss ended, Harry kept his eyes closed, wanting for more. He longed to feel Draco's lips-Draco's soft lips-against his once more. but, knowing that he wasn't going to get what he wanted, Harry slowly opened his eyes. Draco had a smile on his face that was so wide, it reached his ears and lit up his silver-blue orbs.

Draco leaned in. 'I had a feeling that this _detention_ was going to be better than the rest,' the Slytherin whispered into Harry's ear.

Harry laughed, 'Yes, tutoring each other was the best _punishment_ that McGonagall and Snape ever thought of.'

Draco trailed kisses along Harry's jaw line, mumbling, 'Same time, same place tomorrow?' against the Gryffindor's skin.

'Mmm...' Harry moaned, 'I have a better place than the library.'

The Slytherin stopped and looked directly into Harry's eyes, his eyebrow arched in inquiry. Harry grinned and winked, thinking of the Room of Requirements. _That will be a very good place to __**study**__,_ he thought mischievously, as he inched closer to Draco to capture the other boy's lips with his own.

**END**


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